Sierra Leone confirms second new case of Ebola

The west-African nation was declared free of the deadly virus in November.

Sierra Leone on Thursday reported its second new case of Ebola, a week after the World Health Organisation declared an end to the epidemic in West Africa. Health ministry spokesperson Sidi Yahyah Tunis told Reuters that the new patient was a 38-year-old woman and the aunt of the earlier victim, Mariatu Jalloh, who died last week. Tunis added that the woman helped wash Jalloh's body to prepare it for an Islamic burial.

The WHO had declared the West African region Ebola-free on January 14 after no new cases were reported in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – the worst-affected countries – for 42 days. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had warned against the possibility of flare-ups of the virus. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free on November 7. The disease has claimed as many as 11,316 lives since December 2013.